Dean Foti is tired of hearing about his team getting beat late in the game.

The Syracuse men’s soccer coach knows that in four of his team’s last five games, it has either lost or tied after giving up a late goal. The most recent of those defeats came this Saturday when the Orange (5-5-4, 2-4) gave up a 67th-minute goal against Louisville (9-4-1, 5-2-1) and lost, 1-0.

‘Most of the goals are scored, like, in the last five minutes of the first half and in the last 20 minutes of the game,’ Foti said. ‘So it’s not uncommon to have goals scored then. I feel like everyone keeps saying, ‘You’re giving up goals at the end of the game.’ That’s when the goals are scored. That’s when everybody’s the most fatigued, that’s when teams break down and make mistakes.’

Like Louisville and its previous opponents had done to it, the Orange made its offensive push in the waning moments of the game. The team recorded both of its shots on goal in the final 10 minutes of the game. Forward Tom Perevegyencev had the best chance to score, after he dribbled past a defender inside the box on the left side of the goal in the 88th minute. But with a clear look at the net, the ball went off the side of his foot straight toward the Louisville goalie.

‘What would have been a routine shot for any other forward, I just missed it,’ Perevegyencev said. ‘I didn’t put it on goal as I wanted it to.’

That shot reminded Perevegyencev of an 89th minute effort from the Cincinnati game two weeks ago, when he made a similar move from the other side of the goal, beating a defender and finding himself with a good look on the net. But against the Bearcats, Perevegyencev buried it and his team won, 1-0.

‘It was close. You can’t get any better chances than that,’ Foti said. ‘…It was a lot better chance than the one at Cincinnati. The goal he scored at Cincinnati was a lot harder to score than the chance that he had (Saturday).’

The Orange faced a different style of defense Saturday – one that held the offense at bay in the first half. By keeping more players deep in its own end of the field, Louisville stifled the Orange offense, which predominantly relies on using its speed to get space behind the defense.

Facing more defenders farther back, the Orange had trouble finding room behind the back line. The offense had only one shot in the first half, while Louisville had nine. Perevegyencev said it was not until fatigue set in late that the Orange was able to find the space it was looking for.

Syracuse will have to find some offense not only late in games, but late in its season if it plans to stay in the hunt for a conference championship. At 2-5 in the Big East with four games to play, the Orange must make up six points – equivalent to two wins – to move into sixth place and make the Big East tournament.

For forward Kyle Hall, who recorded the team’s other shot on goal in the 82nd minute, his team needs to get started earlier in the game, and start shooting more to make that happen. The Orange is tied for the fewest shots taken in the Big East and has been out shot 231-136 by its opponents.

Foti would like to see his team take more shots, but he said Louisville’s style of play coupled with the road environment made that difficult Saturday. Hall said he is going to look for more shots in upcoming games and that he is counting on his teammates to do the same.

As for losing at the end of the game, Hall said his team can come out with more intensity and take control from the start, instead of allowing their opponents to do so.

‘I think we need to come to win,’ Hall said. ‘And that starts off just taking it to the other game and not just waiting for it to happen.’

Published on October 22, 2007 at 12:00 pm